Los Angeles Clippers believed they had DeAndre Jordan deal in place with Cavaliers

DeAndre Jordan is the final remnant of the erstwhile Lob City. Once a prosperous land of alley-oops and traffic-free rim runs into the lane, the Clippers are a team barely clinging to relevancy. As the trade deadline approached, the Staples Center’s secondary tenant appeared committed to a reset and believed they had a deal in place that have sent Jordan to Cleveland. However, the deal feel through and Clippers were unable to move Jordan before the trade deadline lapsed.

The Raptors were one of the teams that discussed a trade involving Jonas Valanciunas. However, the Cavaliers were frontrunner team that the Clippers were closest to reaching a deal with that would appease both parties.

Quiet as kept, DeAndre Jordan is hitting 60 percent of his attempts from the charity stripe, but more importantly, he is a defensive penumbra in the paint who helped shore up their bottom-rung defense.

The pieces were in place Thursday, and the Los Angeles Clippers thought they were close to a deal that would have sent starting center DeAndre Jordan to the Cavaliers, when news surfaced of the blockbuster trade that Cleveland instead had with the Lakers, sources have told ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.

After dealing Blake Griffin to the Detroit Pistons on Jan. 29, the Clippers continued to explore trade opportunities for Jordan ahead of Thursday’s deadline, targeting young players and draft picks.

In the NBA, nothing is set in stone and the Cavaliers chose instead to reboot their entire roster around LeBron James beyond 2018 sans Jordan’s expiring contract.

The fourth year on Jordan’s $87 million deal is worth $24 million, however, the security of a multi-year deal and a fresh start, especially in the wake of injuries to DeMarcus Cousins, may be too too attractive to pass up. Ultimately, the Clippers or any team that traded for Jordan would face the possibility of losing him next summer without receiving any assets in return.